Rockets open season today

Today marks the return of Rocket baseball to Portland Memorial Park.
The Portland Rockets, who enter their 55th season, open their 2015 campaign at 1 p.m. today with a doubleheader against the South Bend Cardinals at Runkle-Miller Field.
Led by manager Randy Miller, the Rockets are coming off a season during which they compiled a 27-16 record, including a Red Carrington League championship and an appearance in the National Amateur Baseball Federation regional semifinal.
Anchoring the 2015 squad will be a trio of experienced starting pitchers, beginning with today’s game-one starter and South Adams graduate Dan Bollenbacher. The righty flamethrower is entering his eighth season as a Rocket.
Mitch Waters, a 2002 Jay County High School graduate, will start game two today, and Miller said the 10-year Portland veteran will be used more as a hurler this year than in previous years because of other commitments.
Joining Waters and Bollenbacher in the starting rotation is southpaw Tyler Reynolds, an Indiana Tech product and graduate of Muncie Southside High School. Other starting pitchers include lefties Craig Miller (fourth year) of Taylor University and Ancilla’s Connor Milligan (second year).
Dunkirk native Thomas McCowan and Kokomo’s Dalton Tinsley are two veteran players Miller will rely on for leadership. Tinsley, who finished his last year of eligibility at Shawnee State, will roam center field.
“He’s our leadoff guy,” Miller said. “He’s the straw that stirs the drink, our catalyst. He plays about every inning of every game. He’s a very good player. We’re certainly tickled to have him back.”
T.J. Linstrand, an outfielder and catcher for Huntington University, also returns for his sophomore season with the Rockets. He is penciled in at one of the outfield spots next to Tinsley.
Portland will also feature a handful of other players with local ties. Jay County graduates Kyle Selvey and Wesley Hibbard, and South Adams product Collin Affolder return for their first full season as Rockets. Selvey is an infielder at Huntington and Affolder plays outfield for Bethel College.
Affolder will play next to Tinsley in left field, and Selvey will be part of a rotation in the middle of the infield with newcomer Austin Brannock — his brothers Justin and Cameron are former Rockets — and veterans Justin Marrero and Alex Delk.
“He’s worked hard,” Miller said of Delk, who red-shirted this season for Indiana Tech. “He’s in the best shape of his life. He’s a prospect. He has tools that have only scraped the surface of his capabilities.”
Hibbard, who became the Patriot ace during the tail end of his senior season at Jay County, will be used primarily as a long reliever.
“He’s got to step up and be an inning eater,” Miller said. “Hopefully he’s got that rubber arm where he can pitch every ball game … come in and give us a lift late in games.”
Other additions to the roster include first baseman and catcher Jagen Millspaugh (Indiana Tech) and Carson Cruea (Purdue University North Central).
With an equal mix of seasoned players and youth, Miller is hopeful they are able to feed off each other and get Portland back to the NABF World Series. The Rockets earned their only World Series berth in team history during the 2012 season.
“The old guys tend to assume leadership roles,” Miller said. “The young guys soon find out what it’s like to be dedicated for a cause bigger than themselves.
“They pick up on that and I think they’ll represent Portland well.”